Love of the Stars pt 2
by Starclone
Summary: Sequel to Love of the Stars pt. 1. We see Star in battle practically for the first time. Both Rex and Star question their feelings for the other.
1. A Special Gift

CHAPTER 1: A Special Gift

Rex, Cody, and Star walked down the hallway. They had all passed their tests and were going to find out which squads they were being assigned to.

"I hope I become a commando!"Cody said confidently.

"Cody, I think you'd have better luck becoming a maintenance clone," Star retorted.

Rex laughed at that one. Star had been with them for only a couple months, but she was as battle ready as any of them. Cody, Rex and Star had become really close since Star had been brought to Kamino. But sometimes to Star it seemed that Rex was closer to her than anyone. Maybe it was because he had saved her life when she first showed up. Star brushed the feeling off; they had arrived at the main hanger.

The three of them stood at attention with five other clones: Waxer, Echo, Fives, Boil, and Hevy. The training sergeant addressed each of them individually, giving them their position and armor. He spoke to Waxer and Boil first.

"Waxer, here is your armor. Here is yours Boil. You have both been assigned to the twenty-twelfth battalion. Congratulations." Waxer and Boil high-fived each other.

"Echo, you have been assigned to the Rishi outpost. Hevy, Fives, you have also been assigned to Rishi." They all wore downcast expressions.

The sergeant approached Cody next. "Congratulations Cody, you are the 212th's new commander." Cody's face held a mix of surprise and pride. He received his armor and gazed at the yellow-marked plating in wonder.

Rex was next. "Rex, you will be the captain of the one and only Five-oh-first." Rex stared in disbelief as he received his armor, complete with pauldron and kama. "By the way," the sergeant said to him, "You will also be in command of Torrent Company, a division of the 501st." Star could tell that Rex was trying to hold back a smile and look professional.

Star waited her turn patiently through all of this. She only expected to be given the status of a regular trooper, or even a medic. She figured that she would be given a low rank, seeing as she was a girl. But what the sergeant said next was beyond what she expected. "Star, you have given the rank of lieutenant in the 501st."

The alarm jolted Star out of yet another dreamless sleep. She felt like she was supposed to be remembering something as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. It felt like one of those days where her father was coming home from another ruthless mission. But no, she was fourteen years old, in a pristine white room with clones rushing about.

That was it! Today was the day that she and her brothers were getting shipped out, going to fight the Separatists and restore order to the galaxy. She hurriedly jumped down from her bed and got her new armor on. It fit perfectly, and the helmet was snug on her head. Star rushed out with her brothers to where they would board the ship.

These clones weren't her actual brothers, but they were all the family she needed. She had formed special bonds with several of them, and she knew that they would always have each other's back. Even though some of them were assigned to different legions and companies, they were all family. Star was thinking about how many of them would probably die before they would see each other again when someone shouted her name from behind. "Star, wait up!"

She turned to see Rex running to catch up with her, and from the looks of it he was trying to hide something behind his back. He caught up to her, slightly panting but grinning ear to ear.

"Rex, I thought you would be in line already," Star said.

"I was looking for you, to give you these," Rex replied as he held out what was behind his back. Star could only stare. In Rex's hand was a slender, flattened rod with a disk sticking out from one of the ends. She picked it up, and one of the ends slid off to reveal a gleaming silver blade. "It's a sword," she said.

Star looked back down to see what else was in Rex's hand. There was a curved stick with a string connecting the two ends, and a pouch with sticks that were sharp on one end and had three feathers on the other. Star had heard of these before, a bow and arrows. "But how will these help me fight clankers."

"I took some metal shavings from your knife. The blade and arrow tips are made from the same material." Rex replied. Star sheathed the ninjato and gave Rex a light hug. "Vor entye, ner vod."

Rex looked at her in surprise. "You've been learning Mandalorian?"

Star shrugged, "I pick it up every now and then." She strapped the sword around her waist and slung the bow and arrows over her shoulder. "We better get in line, come on."

The last moment Star remembered of that day was General Tii giving a graduation speech, boarding a ship that would take them to the _Resolute_, and somehow knowing that Rex was smiling at her under his helmet the whole time.


	2. Wrong Time

CHAPTER 2: Wrong Time

"Rex! Rex wake up!"

Captain Rex jumped. He had daydreamed again, and in the middle of a battle this time. He kept thinking back to previous battles, especially since it looked like they were repeating themselves, just on a different planet.

Star had rushed over to him and was shaking him. She had a look of panic in her eyes, which was rare. Her helmet was gone, her sword in hand. His senses snapped back into focus. They were on Kashyyk, defending the Wookiee colonies from the Separatists. The clankers had come in on water craft and were storming the beach. Though the kriffing things were the dumbest machines in the universe, they had the advantage of numbers, and huge explosives. Rex watched as they fired missiles into the trenches the troops had made and blew them sky high.

"Rex! Come on, we got to get out of here. General Skywalker called the order for retreat."

"That's a new one for him," was the only thing Rex said. Star rolled her eyes and gave him a shove.

"Yeah, I know. It was a shock to me too. I'm supposed to hold them while you get to the gunships."

"I'll stay here." He said. That got Star even more irritated, he could tell.

"No, you're not. Not after what happened last week." Rex knew what she was talking about. The Zygerrian slave drivers that had imprisoned him, Generals Kenobi and Skywalker, and Ahsoka. He could have run, but he stood by his officers and got captured. Then he spent time with Kenobi at a mining facility in the Kadavo system, where through treacherous torture they tried to break them into submission. Yet another moment he could vividly recall, especially the way Star looked at him when he got back.

"Rex, what is with you?" Star's cries brought him back to reality. She was staring directly into his eyes, as if trying to read his mind. "Whatever just stay back. There's enough fire here for me to actually get a good range." She was referring to her powers again, the one's given to her by renegade Nightsisters. They meant it to be a curse of sorts, but it didn't work out that way. Star had learned to control her abilities, specifically the one where she could conjure and shoot fire at will. She could even absorb fire from outside sources and use it.

Star sheathed her sword, ran over to the edge of the trench, and took her position, just like that first day. She spread her arms wide, and the fire from the previously launched missiles came to her. Star absorbed the flames into her palms, and a wicked, predatorial grin spread over her face. Her arm comlink was close to her face, so Rex could hear her faintly say, "Alright tinnies, let's dance."

She threw her arms down and a row of flames shot from her hands and part of her arms, landing right in front of the first row of droids. Her arms went up, and the flames went up to create a wall of fire. Rex could feel the heat from here. A thrust of her arms, and the wall went forward into the ranks of droids, incinerating thousands as it went. It even hit some of their watercraft and caused them to rupture and explode. Rex marveled anew every time Star used her powers. They reminded him of his vow to protect Star, which in turn made his feelings for her become stronger. Watching her made Rex…

_No…. no, you can't do this to yourself, _Rex told himself. They were both soldiers; that kind of emotion was not meant for them. Yet no matter how much he tried, Rex just couldn't help himself for wanting Star to be his own, to have the same feelings for him as he did for her. Rex found himself watching Star again as a droid limb almost hit him in the head.

Star had pulled out her sword, a ninjato if he remembered correctly, and was using that to fight as the tougher droids such as SBD's and commando droids moved in. Star was moving rapidly, blocking blaster bolts here, slicing a droid head there: at times she seemed almost as coordinated as a Jedi. But no matter how many tinnies she cut down, there seemed to be even more still. Rex grabbed his DC-17 pistols and ran in to help Star. Before long the two of them were back-to-back and up to their shebs in droid scraps.

"I thought I told you to stay back," Star shouted over the noise.

"Did you really think you keep me away that long?" was Rex's somewhat sarcastic reply.

She didn't say anything; she just kept hacking at commandos. Rex had been counting the number of gunships; there were only about three left. _We're gonna make it, _Rex thought. _We just need to get out of this mess ourselves. _

Then Rex saw it, just above them. A commando sniper was rustling in the trees along the cliffs, and he could just about make out the droids targeting laser.

It was pointed at the side of Star's chest.

Her arms were holding her sword in the air. If that blaster bolt hit its mark, it would break her ribs, and most likely go straight through her left lung. Rex knew he had to do something; Star probably hadn't seen the sniper yet, and her wolf senses were most likely focused on the problem I front of her. Her reflexes were good, but not that good. Then Rex remembered his vow; that he would fight until his last breath to protect Star. And that's what he was gonna do.

As the sniper pulled the trigger right as Rex pivoted his body so he was positioned with his back against Star's shoulder. Rex felt a searing pain shoot through his lower chest, knowing the bolt had hit him. The last thing Rex remembered was sinking to the ground, the edges of his vision going black,

and Star shouting his name once again.


	3. Healing Magic

CHAPTER 3: Healing Magic

Star turned when she felt something against her left shoulder. She saw Rex sinking to the ground, his pistols fallen beside him. Star dropped her sword and turned Rex over. He had a gunshot wound just about in the middle of his torso. She felt his pulse and noticed it was very faint. She felt rage building up inside her, and the fact that the droids were getting closer didn't help.

Her head shot up, tears brimming on the edges of her eyes. Star stamped her right foot, threw her hands outward, and let out a scream that turned into a shrill howl. Waves of flames rippled out in circles from where she was standing. Soon all that was left were piles of ashes and some small flames. She didn't have time to survey the damage; there were more droids coming in from the water. She grabbed Rex's arm, slung it over her shoulder, and carried his limp form back to the last gunship where General Skywalker and ARC Trooper Fives were waiting with others survivors.

"What happened?" Fives asked.

Star laid Rex down on the floor and boosted herself in. "He took a shot for me. Let's get back to the _Resolute_."

The gunship took off and soon they were back in the hangar deck of the Jedi cruiser. Skywalker had called the medics before they arrived so when they landed the droids were there with a stretcher waiting. Fives and Skywalker laid Rex, still unconscious, onto it and he was wheeled away. Fives turned to Star as she climbed down.

"He's going to be fine, Star. Rex is as tough as an ARC trooper." He said.

"I sure hope so," She said, looking down. "He's the only person I know who…." Star's voice trailed off. She didn't know how to finish the sentence. She felt the tears creep back into her eyes. Star couldn't bear to think of Rex dying. She ran back to her quarters before she lost control of herself. When she finally reached her room she just let go. Her claws came forth and she began ripping anything that could be shredded. When that was over Star shifted into her wolf form. General Skywalker found her pacing the floor and howling occasionally.

"Star, if you can get yourself back under control you can see Rex." He said calmly, and then walked away. Star reverted to her human form and took a few deep breaths. Fives was right; Rex was going to be okay. She was just overreacting because she was letting her…. feelings….get in the way of her better judgment.

Why did she feel this way about him? Sure she cared about Rex, but she cared about all of her brothers. This isn't any different, is it? Star wasn't sure. She couldn't tell if this was love or not. If it was, she would have to stop feeling this way. She was a soldier, and she had made a commitment to the GAR. Winning the war came first in her life. And besides, there was no way they could be together. They were just too different, and Rex probably didn't like her anyway.

But if he didn't like her in that way, why was he the only one who accepted her into his squad? Why did he save her when she was stabbed by those cadets? Maybe that was just him being nice, and a good soldier. Either way, Star knew he wasn't going to die, at least not if she had any say in it. She made her way down to the medical station.

When Star reached the med bay, she didn't even have to say anything. The clone medic just led her to where they were treating Rex. He was laid out on the bed, his upper armor removed and the injury bandaged. The machine to the right of the bed indicated that his vitals were returning to normal. Star came over to side of the bed and took Rex's left hand in her right. She started rubbing her thumb over the top of his hand in circular motions. She remembered someone doing that to her after she was stabbed. Now that she thought about it, it was probably Rex who had done that, and had watched over her the other days when she had to stay in the medical room back on Kamino.

The med droid shuffled over to check on Rex. His optic sensors glanced up at Star who in turn looked at the droid. "He is currently stable," was the stiff reply the droid gave. Star heard the door open and released her grip on Rex's hand as Cody and Fives entered the room.

"Where's the General?" Star asked.

"Council meeting, otherwise he'd be down here." Cody replied.

The two of them walked closer to the bed as the droid changed the bandages on Rex's chest. Star bit her knuckle and Fives whistled. They could clearly see where the blaster bolt had hit Rex. There was a little bit of dried blood around the entry point, and the surrounding area was badly bruised.

"Fierfek," Fives muttered under his breath.

"That must have been one hell of a blaster." Cody said, not bothering to hide his astonishment.

"I think it was a sniper. I didn't bother to look around until after I turned every clanker on the shore to ash." Star said.

The machine next to the bed started beeping wildly, and all three clones turned to look and see what it meant. The sensors showed that Rex's heart rate was increasing rapidly, something that they could tell was not a good sign.

Fives turned to the droid. "Aren't you going to do something?"

The droid continued applying new bandages to his chest. "In good time."

Fives pointed at the monitor. "His heart rate is going through the roof. It's only a matter of time before it stops completely." He practically shouted. And yet the droid moved at its same slow pace. It shooed the three clones toward the other end of the room. But it didn't seem like anything the droid was doing was helping. Cody leaned in to whisper to Star, "You've got to do something."

Star turned to him, eyes wide. "What can I do?" she was frantically looking from Cody to Rex. She wanted to help, but it felt wrong to interfere.

"Star, I've seen you use your fire for healing purposes. It saved a couple extra lives back on Umbara. You can at least try."

"Okay, but I'll need you guys to cover me."Star approached the droid, Cody and Fives close behind her. "I know what to do," she said to droid. "So if you could just move."

The droid turned to her. "You do not have authorization. Please stand back."

"No." was Star's defiant reply. She tried to shove past the droid, who turned and pushed her back. He was quicker than he looked. Star and the medical droid scuffled for a few seconds before Star shot a blast of hot air at the droid which sent him flying toward the opposite wall. "Grab him!" Star shouted. Cody and Fives pinned the droid against the wall and held him there.

"Make it quick Star," Cody said over his shoulder. "He's pretty strong."

Star focused her attention on Rex. Sweat was running down his forehead and blood was starting to seep through the bandages. She removed the dressings so she could see the injury. Rex was starting to lose blood, and the sight of the wound was making Star sick. She took a deep breath and cupped her hands. A small fire ball appeared in her palms. She blew gently into the flame and it turned a bluish color. Star made the flames spread by stretching her hands and then placed the sheet of fire on Rex's chest. She placed her right hand on top of the flames ad focused. She sent a jolt of her energy into the flames and through Rex's body. The blue flames sank into his torso, and the injury disappeared.

Fives and Cody relinquished their hold on the medical droid who rushed over to the bed and began to check Rex's vitals. As he turned to the monitors, Rex sat straight up and gasped. He looked around the room until his eyes settled on Star.

"What happened?" he asked.

Cody approached Rex and placed a hand on his friend's back. "Star just saved you life _ner vod_."

Rex looked at Cody as if he was thinking through what Cody just said. He smiled, gave Star his thanks, and asked for his armor back. Star turned to head out the door. "I'll go tell the head medic what happened and request for your release."

"Release? Where am I, I prison?" Rex asked.

Star laughed and left the room. As she headed down the hall, she thought about what just happened. It still baffled her, even though she was the one who had saved Rex's life. She reported what just happened and the medics agreed to let Rex leave. After she saw Rex head to the bridge to find General Skywalker, she returned to her quarters.

Star sat on the floor of her quarters, meditating, or at least trying to meditate. Eventually she just gave up. She would leave the meditating to the Jedi. She pulled out her sword and started cleaning it instead. The whole time she thought about what she had done. Rex had been shot two days ago, but the memory was fresh in her mind. She had almost lost Rex, and it wasn't going to happen again. Star promised this to herself, feeling that same feeling she felt after he had almost died. This time she welcomed it, and she could now honestly say to herself that she was in love with Captain Rex.


End file.
